sellers



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

WM. SELLERS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VENTILATING HATS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 13,361, dated July 31, 1855.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WM. SELLERS, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement .in Ventilating Hats, &c.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1, is an external elevation of a straw hat constructed with my improvement, in this View it is shown as arranged when not designed to ventilate. Fig. 2, is also an external elevation showing the hat as arranged f'or Ventilating. Fig. 3, is a vertical cent-ral section of the same. Figs. 4 and 5 are detached Views of the extension adjusting slides.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures.

My invention has reference to that description of Ventilating hats, or other similar head covering, in which the crown of the hat is constructed so as to open or close and made adjustable to increase or diminish the extent of opening by means of slides which admit of the crown being extended and separated from the body. To such construction of Ventilating hats, there are many objections: The crown, being unsupported by the body of the hat, is apt to get bent, warp and turn up at its edges, the head is not sufficiently protected from the rays of the sun which strike directly into the hat if the crown be raised on one side only; the current of cooling air, passing through the opening, has no sides to deflect it and passes out at a distance from the head, too great to b'e felt, without imparting the refreshing pleasantness of the breeze to it; and such construction of hats presents a broken and unsightly appearance to the hat, besides possessing many other defects and objections.

y .improvement consists firstly, in making the hat to open at its sides or intermediate of the body which is formed in two parts, the one part being firmly connected with the crown and the other part being firmly attached to the front end or lower portion of the hat, in such a manner that the crown portion of the body may be adjusted to form an open or close connection with the under or front portion of the body; and, secondly,

in providing either one of such divided portions of the body,

with an inclosed or surrounding strip of gimp or other perforated material in such a manner as to form a telescopic fitting to the body at .its division or opening, that may serve as a guide to the movable portion of the body, gives an unbroken and ornamental appearance to the hat when open to Ventilate, also conceals the sliding devices that are connected with the movable crown portion of the body, likewise serves to break and distribute the breeze or air playing through. In such a construction of hat or other head covering, it will be observed, the defects spoken of, in the movable-crown hat before adverted to, are obviated:-the tip or top crown of the hat is prevented from warping, bending or turning up at its edges, by being firmly connected with or forming part of the body of the hat; a current of cooling air is allowed to play immediately over the head and is defiected by the sides of the crown portion of the body and prevented from passing out or through without imparting the desired cooling effect; and the head is protected, by the crown portion of the body of the hat, rom the rays of the sun striking into the at.

To enable others to fully understand my invention I will proceed to describe it minutely.

A, in the accompanying drawing represents a straw hat made in two or more parts, B, C, and D, a piece of open straw work, gimp, india rubber or other open Ventilating material placed inside the hat, opposite the division line or Ventilating space between the two sections, as shown, it being attached fast to the upper section B, but is free from the lower section C, so that it shall be adjusted with the upper section.

E, E, E, represent extension slides, which unite the two sections of the hat and serve for adjusting the upper section as desirable. These slides are made, in two parts a, b, and applied on the inside of the hat as shown, the part a, being attached fast to the lower or upper sect-ion of the hat and the part Z2, which slides up and down on a, and serves for adjusting, the upper section of the hat is attached fast to the upper or lower section C, and is held in place when raised by a set screw F, and when lowered a certain distance is prevented from descending farther by a stop a. By interposing the strip of open straw, gimp or perforated lining the hat is rendered capable ci ventilating and at the same time presents at a distance an unbroken appearance, the slides are also hid from sight.

In the drawing I have only represented the improvement applied to a straw hat whereas in practice I intend to employ it on all kinds of hats, caps and bonnets to which it may be applied with utility and convenience. When it is applied to bonnets the slides of course will be placed horizontal. or oblique instead of vertical and the crown portion of the body of the bonnet will move or be adjustable.

To adjust the crown section Vof Vthe body of the hat in order to ventilate the head, vfrom the position shown in Fig. 1, to the position shown in Fig. 2, in black and in red in Fig. 3, it is necessary to loosen the set screw, move the slide up from the position shown in black in Fig. 3, to the position shown in red in same figure, and then again tighten the screw. I/Vhen the crown section of the body of the hat is thus adjusted an open space is formed all aro-und the hat intermediate of the body and the reticulated lining or gimp strip exposed and air rushes through its pertorations and ventilates the head. In order to decrease the quantity of air admitted it is only necesl sary to loosen the set screw, move down the slide the required distance and then again tighten the screw.

Vhat I claim as new and useful herein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. haking the hat, 0r other similar head covering, to open at its side or sides by dividing the body of the hat and connecting and arranging the separated portions or sections of the body so that the one portion of the body may be adjusted to form an open or close connection with the other por# tion of the body substantially as and in the manner specified.

2. Providing the divided body, at the junction of the two sections, with a gimp guiding strip or reticulated telescopic lining or casing (D) arranged for operation in connection with the movable section of the body essentially as and for the purposes set forth and whereby an ornamental and unbroken appearance is given to the hat all around when the body of it is open for ventilation as described.

WILLIAM SELLERS.

Vitnesses;

Jos. Gro. MASON, WM. T'UsoH. 

